Prostitution: Diddy bags 4-year jail term after emotional court hearing

American music icon Sean “Diddy” Combs has been handed a 50-month prison sentence following his conviction on prostitution-related offences.

Prosecutors had sought an 11-year term, but Judge Arun Subramanian settled on just over four years after an emotional hearing that lasted the entire day on Friday.

Combs’s legal team had argued for a lighter punishment of 14 months — roughly the time he has already spent in custody at a Brooklyn facility.

Before the sentence was announced, the 55-year-old hip-hop mogul addressed the court and expressed regret for his actions.“I am truly sorry,” he said. “I ask your honour for mercy. I beg your honour for mercy.”

In July, a jury cleared Combs of the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering but found him guilty of two counts of transporting individuals across state lines for prostitution.

His former partner, singer Casandra Ventura, popularly known as Cassie, wrote a powerful victim impact statement urging the court to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”

Ventura described years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, recounting harrowing experiences she endured during their relationship.

Alongside another woman identified only as Jane, Ventura said she was forced into “freak-offs” — sexual encounters with hired men that Combs arranged and occasionally filmed.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” she revealed.

She added that she continues to battle nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Prosecutor Christy Slavik told the court that Combs had yet to show genuine accountability.“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” she said, noting that he had scheduled speaking engagements in Miami, seemingly anticipating a lighter sentence. She described this as “the height of hubris.”

In defence, attorney Nicole Westmoreland portrayed Combs as “an inspiration” and a “social justice crusader.”“No, Combs is not larger than life. He’s just a human being. He’s made mistakes,” she said, insisting that he was remorseful and that “it’s of no benefit to anyone to warehouse him in a prison.”

Combs’s six adult children also made emotional pleas for leniency. His eldest son, Quincy Brown, described him as “a changed man,” while one of his daughters, D’Lila Combs, told the judge, “Please, please give our family the chance to heal together. Not as headlines but as human beings.”